Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

facdev@niu.edu, www.niu.edu/facdev, 815.753.0595

Classroom Discussions

Classroom discussions should help students learn but getting students to actively

participate can sometimes be a difficult task. Silberman (1996) asserts that to

stimulate class discussion, ―You first have to build interest!‖ How, then, can we

make that happen? A number of strategies are presented here which can change the

once ―quiet‖ classroom into one that has lively and meaningful discussion.

Barton, Heilker, and Rutkowski (n.d.) stress that our students should be ―attentive

and involved and engaged‖ to help them construct their own learning and engage in

discussion. Burton et al. also point out that effective classroom discussion occurs

when students talk with other students and not just the instructor (para. 7). Dialog

among classroom peers can be monopolized by a few talkative students while other

students sit back and passively observe. Helping to break the habit of rote, two-way

responses between the instructor and the student while the rest of the class remains

uninvolved can be achieved by implementing some of the strategies presented here.

Plan classroom discussions by talking about its purpose and stress the importance

of hearing everyone‘s ―voice‖ in the dialogue. It is good practice, though, to never

force students to talk if they are not comfortable. Talk with these students outside

of class to ensure there aren‘t underlying reasons for them not participating.

Quieter students may assume a more active role in small group discussions so be

sure to include break out sessions periodically during the semester.

Also, talk with the students about ways they can prepare for classroom discussions

through required homework and textbook readings. It is important to also connect

classroom discussions to course goals, objectives and students‘ background

knowledge.

It is good practice to go over the ground rules for classroom discussion by

describing roles and etiquette. For example, inform students that a major portion of

the class grade will be based on active and meaningful participation and that

everyone must be respectful of their peers and the instructor. Know how to curb

students who dominate the discussion, those who bring about negativity, or

students who joke around. Finally, teach students how to listen so they can

effectively continue the discussion with a coherent dialogue.

Strategies for Fostering Classroom Discussions

Excerpted from Fostering Effective Classroom Discussions

by J. Barton, P. Heilker, and D. Rutkowski. Used with permission.

1. Set clear expectations for student participation in discussion sessions.

Do this at the beginning of the semester to set the tone of the class

Establish discussion ―rules‖ such as ―You are not allowed to say ‗I

don‘t know‘ when asked a question. If you don‘t know, think of a

plausible answer, guess, speculate, wonder aloud.‖

It is important to connect

classroom discussions to

course goals, objectives

and students‟ background

knowledge.

. . . inform students

that a major portion

of the class grade

will be based on active

and meaningful

participation . . .

CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS Page | 2

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

facdev@niu.edu, www.niu.edu/facdev, 815.753.0595

Require students to submit an Entrance Ticket when they come to

class. Students submit the entrance ticket to the instructor if they

have completed homework or reading – this ticket can help motivate

to students to be prepared for class discussions. (See a sample

Entrance Ticket as the end of this section)

2. Break the ice with informal talk outside of class.

Informally talk with student before and after class about non-class

material such as their other classes, sports, and activities. Showing

students that you care about them as individuals may help them to be

more open to formal discussion in class.

3. Control and use classroom space strategically.

Arrange the classroom in a circle or horseshoe to help stimulate

discussion.

Move toward the person to whom you are talking but then move

away as soon as they begin to speak so they become the center of the

conversation.

Walk among the students during your presentation to encourage

students to talk with you.

Sitting with your students helps the class become a community

which can encourage discussion.

4. Use eye contact purposefully and strategically.

Look directly at the person to whom you are discussing but then

scan the class to encourage more dialogue.

Watch for non-verbal feedback to keep the discussion lively and

meaningful—move on and change the subject when you see people

drifting off.

5. Avoid open questions; Call on individual students.

Directing questions to specific students rather than asking the entire

class to answer will prevent students who tend to answer all the time

from monopolizing the discussion.

6. Ask good questions.

Prepare a list of questions to help drive the discussion. Mark those

which are good and delete for future classes those which do not spur

discussion.

Avoid yes/no questions. Instead, form questions which require

students to analyze and interpret, beginning the question with, ―Why

do you think?‖ or ―How would you?‖

Include questions that lead to students taking a stand on a subject

and lead these questions with, ―What arguments, pro and con, can

we generate?‖

Prompt students recall of information by asking questions that refer

to readings, prior discussions, and exam material.

Establish discussion

“rules” such as “You are

not allowed to say „I don‟t

know when asked a

question. If you don‟t

know, think of a plausible

answer, guess, speculate,

wonder aloud.”

Prompt students recall of

information by asking

questions that refer to

readings, prior

discussions, and exam

material.

Take the time to allow

students to formulate an

answer and avoid

answering the question

yourself or asking another

student for the answer.

CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS Page | 3

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

facdev@niu.edu, www.niu.edu/facdev, 815.753.0595

7. Resist responding to your own questions.

Take the time to allow students to formulate an answer and avoid

answering the question yourself or asking another student for the

answer.

Ask the student to clarify the answer or add more information if it is

not exactly what you are looking for instead of bypassing that

student for another. A sure way to deter students from discussion is

to quickly disregard their answer or comment.

8. Time and discussion management.

Plan on how much time you will provide for classroom

discussions—and provide more time than what you think you will

need.

How will you end a discussion if time runs out—will you resume the

discussion during the next class period? Will you have students

continue with the discussion in an online discussion forum you

create for that purpose using Blackboard? Will you have students

complete homework based on the discussion?

Prepare for disagreement among students, especially if the topic is

controversial or gets out of hand. Providing and reviewing

discussion policies and guidelines can help reduce flare-ups or

heated discussions. Refer to step 1 above.

Silberman (1996) suggests a number of strategies to engage students in classroom

discussions which are organized in an easy-to-follow overview, procedure, and

variations. A few of these strategies are presented below.

Active Debate—where every student is involved in the discussion and not

only the debaters.

Town Meeting—lightly defined, a town meeting is a meeting of the

members of a town or community who discuss and act upon town business.

In education, a town meeting can imply a meeting where the students are

formed in a group (or the entire class) are welcome to voice their views on a

subject in an egalitarian, participatory, and democratic way. The instructor

can direct the conversation on a particular subject where students are

involved in the creation of course policy, development of course

assignments, or course calendar.

Three-Stage Fishbowl Decision—this strategy can be used for practicing

listening skills, where a group of students discuss and answer one question,

which is then discussed by a second group of students before discussing and

answering their own question, followed by a third group who discusses the

second question before their own question.

Reading Aloud—helps students focus, raise questions, and stimulate

discussion of a selected book.

Trial by Jury—sparks ―controversy learning‖ which is stimulated by

challenging viewpoints. (1996, pp. 83-92)

Reading aloud helps

students focus, raise

questions, and stimulate

discussion of a selected

book.

CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS Page | 4

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

facdev@niu.edu, www.niu.edu/facdev, 815.753.0595

Summary

Classroom discussions can effectively be implemented with careful planning and

selecting topics which are interesting and relevant to students. Implementing one or

more of the ―tested‖ strategies listed here are suitable to engage students in

discussions which are lively and meaningful. As Barton, et al. (n.d.) caution,

attempting to implement all of the strategies at once would be ―counterproductive.‖

Instead, select a strategy which would be easy to implement and appropriate for a

course. Once the benefits are observed, try introducing another.

References

Barton, J., Heilker, P., & Rutkowski, D. (n.d.). Fostering effective classroom

discussions. http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tc/discussion.htm

Silberman, M. (1996). Active learning: 101 strategies to teach any subject.

Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. (This book is available in the NIU Faculty

Development and Instructional Design Center)

Suggested Resource University of Wisconsin Whitewater Learn Center (2009). Plan classroom

discussions at least as carefully as lectures.

http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/classroomdiscussions.php

Entrance Ticket to Class

Entrance Tickets can be used to encourage students to be more engaged in classroom participation. The

ticket can be a simple Word document made available to students electronically in Blackboard. Provide

information how students can use the ticket, if you will allow more than one ticket, how the ticket will

count toward the final grade (will it count toward participation points, attendance or will the point count

toward the final grade for an assignment or project?).

The Entrance Ticket below is an adaptation from a course syllabus, from Appalachian State University

CI 3850 Literacy, Technology and Instruction http://classdat.rcoe.appstate.edu/CI/3850_lp_f03/entrance_ticket.htm

Entrance Ticket

This ticket must accompany the work listed below to gain access to the classroom on

Date_____________

for ____________________________________________________

(Name of assignment, homework) Instructions:

Ticket # 1